Written Answers Wednesday 24 August 2005

Scottish Executive

Architecture

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to implement its policies on architecture in each of the last five years.

Patricia Ferguson: The funding directly allocated to activities in support of the policy on architecture in each of the last five years is as follows:

  

Financial Year
Funding


2001-02
£612,215


2002-03
£948,496


2003-04
£1,113,524


2004-0
£1,131,677


2005-06 (planned)
£1,447,500

Architecture

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote Scottish architecture and how these plans are being implemented.

Patricia Ferguson: The Executive continues to promote Scottish architecture through its policy on architecture. A progress report which details both the achievements of policy to date and our future plans was published in February 2005, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 35568). Recent initiatives have included events promoting Scottish architecture abroad in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and France.

  The establishment of Architecture and Design Scotland in April 2005 as a national champion for good architecture and design represents a major step forward in encouraging and promoting quality development in the built environment across Scotland. In 2006 we plan a formal review of policy which will take into consideration the Cultural Commission's recent recommendations on architecture and the built environment.

Cycling

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to introduce a general cycle-to-work scheme similar to that introduced in England and Wales.

Tavish Scott: The UK-wide cycle-to-work scheme already extends to Scotland, and promotes cycling through an annual tax exemption which allows employers to lend cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. It is up to individual employers to determine whether or not to enter the scheme.

Development

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the (a) number and (b) physical area of sites designated as derelict land in 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive has since 1993 published an annual statistical bulletin estimating the amount of vacant and derelict land in Scotland by local authority area.

  The information requested can be found in the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2004 which was published on 16 December 2004. The Survey can be viewed on the Scottish Executive website at  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00381-00.asp.

Ferry Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what annual charter and leasing costs are incurred by NorthLink Ferries in respect of the ships acquired from its joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland and, if the costs are not available, what the reasons are for such unavailability.

Tavish Scott: NorthLink currently leases three roll-on roll-off ferry vessels from Royal Bank Leasing Ltd under arrangements made between those parties and the Scottish Ministers in preparation for NorthLink’s provision of the Northern Isles ferry service. Under those arrangements, NorthLink makes annual leasing payments totalling £8.08 million. This amount, which was established on commercial terms, forms part of the annual leasing payments shown in NorthLink’s annual accounts.

Ferry Services

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the possibility of purchasing and managing a fleet of ferries for the provision of lifeline ferry services to the northern islands since the last changes in maritime regulations relating to the safety design of ferries took place in 2002 and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Tavish Scott: The fleet of three ferries owned by Royal Bank Leasing Ltd and currently leased to NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd for the provision of the Northern Isles lifeline services were purpose built for the routes after the award of the 2002-07 subsidy contract to NorthLink in December 2000. The vessels are fully compliant with the new Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations which came into force in 2002. The contractual arrangements between the Scottish Executive, Royal Bank Leasing Ltd and NorthLink relating to the 2002-07 contract provide for the fleet to be made available, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, to any future operator of the services awarded a subsidy contract by the Scottish Executive. The availability of the vessels for future contracts has, therefore, been secured without the Scottish Executive assuming ownership of the vessels.

Ferry Services

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) P&O Scottish Ferries and (b) NorthLink Ferries bid to run the current Northern Isles ferry tender.

Tavish Scott: The bid submitted by P&O Scottish Ferries was for a total of £59.600 million at 2000 prices over five years. The bid submitted by NorthLink Ferries was for £45.652 million at 2000 prices over five years.

Ferry Services

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which companies expressed an interest in bidding for the new Northern Isles ferry tender and what criteria were used to compose the short list of three companies.

Tavish Scott: Expressions of interest in the Northern Isles ferry contract were received by the Scottish Procurement Directorate from:

  
ASP-Seascot Ship Management Ltd
Aberdeen Harbour Board
Adsteam(UK) Ltd
Anglo-Eastern Ship Management (UK)
Braeside Shipping
Burness
Caledonian MacBrayne
Clyde Marine Group
Harrisons (Clyde) Ltd
Irish Continental Group plc
Milford Haven Port Authority
Nor-Cargo Ltd
Northern Marin Management Ltd
NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd
Orkney Islands Council
P&O European Ferries (Irish Sea) Ltd
Pentland Ferries Ltd
Scot Ferries Ltd
Sea Containers
Serco Denholm
Smit International.


  Not all of these companies submitted Pre-Qualification Questionnaires. The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire process assessed the technical capacity, experience and financial standing of the applicant in deciding the short list of bidding companies invited to tender

Ferry Services

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public subsidy P&O Scottish Ferries received to operate Northern Isles ferry services in each year from 1990 to 2002.

Tavish Scott: The following table lists the payments made to P&O Scottish Ferries between 1990 and 2002. The figures are taken from Scottish Transport Statistics and other sources.

  

Calendar Year
Subsidy(£ Million)
SOLAS*
Total(£ Million)


1990
4.659
 
4.659


1991
4.100
 
4.100


1992
4.284
 
4.284


1993
6.027
 
6.027


1994
6.519 
 
6.519


1995
7.622
0.478
8.100


1996
8.100
 
8.100


1997
9.412
 
9.412


1998
12.990
1.270
14.260


1999
11.400
 
11.400


2000
11.500
 
11.500


2001
11.472
0.128
11.600


2002 (January to September)
10.608 
0.598
11.206



  Note: *Grants paid to P&O to make the necessary vessel modifications to meet safety requirements under the Safety of Life at Sea Regulations (SOLAS).

  The system of support for ferry services to the Northern Isles changed in 1998. Prior to this, P&O received Tariff Rebate Subsidy (TRS), based on volumes carried. From 1998, a block grant payment mechanism was used. The higher levels of subsidy paid to P&O from 1998 partly reflect that change.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will impose restrictions on scallop fishing in the Firth of Lorne Special Area of Conservation for the duration of Scottish Natural Heritage’s assessment of mobile fishing gear impacts and, if so, what the (a) nature of these restrictions and (b) compensation payable to affected interests will be.

Ross Finnie: Decisions will be taken on whether or not to impose restrictions in the Firth of Lorn and Loch Creran Special Areas of Conservation and what the nature of these might be once consideration of the issues relating to the sites is complete. These decisions will be made as soon as possible and, in any case, well before works starts on Scottish Natural Heritage’s Assessment of Mobile Gear Fishing Impacts on Special Area of Conservation Features within the Firth of Lorn, the specification for which is currently being prepared. Account will be taken, however, of information obtained from the organisation’s site condition monitoring on the Firth of Lorn, which is underway at present.

  Until these decisions are taken, the Executive is not in a position to consider whether compensation may be appropriate.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals applied for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme in its first month of operation and how many of these applications were made (a) in person, (b) from within the UK by post and (c) from overseas, broken down by country, and how many of the applications in each category were successful.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals transferred to the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme from other immigration schemes, such as the science and engineering graduates scheme.

Mr Tom McCabe: We expect information on individuals applying for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme to be published in due course.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals who successfully applied for a Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme visa in the first month of operation are now resident in Scotland and, of these, how many were resident (a) in Scotland and (b) overseas at the time of application.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information about the current place of residence of successful applicants to the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme will be collected through a questionnaire which the Relocation Advisory Service will issue to all successful applicants. A breakdown of the data collected through the questionnaires will be issued on a six monthly basis. We expect the first breakdown to be published around the turn of the year.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals who applied for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme graduated in (a) 2005 and (b) 2004.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information about the year of graduation of successful applicants will be collected through a questionnaire which the Relocation Advisory Service will issue to all successful applicants. A breakdown of the data collected through the questionnaires will be issued on a six monthly basis. We expect the first breakdown to be published around the turn of the year.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals applied for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme, broken down by (a) year of graduation, (b) awarding institution and (c) level of qualification awarded.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information is not currently available. However, the Relocation Advisory Service will be monitoring the success of the scheme by issuing a questionnaire to all successful applicants. This will include questions to collect the information being requested. A breakdown of the data collected through the questionnaires will be issued on a six monthly basis. We expect the first breakdown to be published around the turn of the year.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the £2 million targeted for the treatment and intervention of offenders with drug misuse problems will be allocated; how many offenders will be covered by this programme, and how the effectiveness of the programme will be monitored.

Hugh Henry: The extra £2 million will begin to forge the closer links between our drugs strategy and our plans for reducing reoffending, signalled in the Criminal Justice Plan , published in December 2004, by creating up to an extra 1000 treatment places. The extra money will extend the range of community interventions targeted at those individuals whose drug misuse brings them into contact with the criminal justice system so that we can offer them access to treatment facilities at each stage in the process. I will announce the details in due course. This is an opportunity to make better use of the combined expertise of the health and justice services in such matters and the arrangements for monitoring effectiveness will build on the best of what already exists.

Justice

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussion with the Home Office or the European Commission in relation to a seminar to examine progress on the implementation of Article 10 of the EU framework decision on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings and what plans it has to contribute to such a seminar, particularly in the area of restorative justice in Scotland.

Hugh Henry: We discussed this possibility among many others at the planning stage for the UK Presidency of the Council of the European. There are no plans at present to hold a seminar on the implementation of Article 10.

Ministerial Correspondence

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to reply to my letter of 19 June 2005 regarding staff shortages in Aberdeenshire.

Peter Peacock: I replied to your letter of 19 June 2005 about staffing in primary schools in the Aberdeenshire area on 19 August 2005.

Museums and Galleries

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial support it provided to museums and galleries in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05 and how much it will provide in 2005-06, broken down by type of museum and gallery.

Patricia Ferguson: Grant-in-Aid for museums and galleries is shown in the following table:

  

 
2002-03
(£000)
2003-04
(£000)
2004-05
(£000)
2005-06
(£000)


National Museums of Scotland Running Costs
15,592
16.546
17.452
18.720


National Museums of Scotland Capital
0.450
1.050
3.050
4.763


National Museums of Scotland Purchases
0.500
0.500
0.500
0.500


National Museums of Scotland (National Fund for Acquisitions)
0.210
0.210
0.210
0.210


National Museums of Scotland Total
16,752
18,306
21,212
24,193


National Galleries of Scotland Running Costs
8.275
9.925
9.125
10.865


National Galleries of Scotland Capital
3.250
0.700
7.700
0.000


National Galleries of Scotland Purchases
3.760
1.260
1.260
1.260


National Galleries of Scotland Total
15,285
11,885
18,085
12,125


Scottish Museums Council to support non-national museums and galleries
2,191
2,941
2,519
2,791



  In addition, the Scottish Executive funds councils to provide services such as museums and art galleries through its block grant. It is, however, up to each council to decide how best to allocate these resources based on their local needs and priorities:

  

 
2002-03
(£000)
2003-04
(£000)
2004-05
(£000)
2005-06
(£000)


Local Authority GAE - museums and galleries
25,988
27,305
28,339
29,406

Museums and Galleries

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in improving access to museum, gallery and library collections for all groups of visitors.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is directly responsible for only the national institutions. The National Galleries of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the National Museums of Scotland all have access strategies designed to increase the number and range of visitors, and also to increase users’ capacity to access the collections remotely.

  The available visitor/website figures are shown in the following table:

  

 
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


National Galleries of Scotland
 
 
 
 


Visitors
0.99m
0.92m
1.22m
1.30m


National Museums of Scotland
 
 
 
 


Visitors
1.25m
1.33m
1.29m
1.32m


Web page visits
1.53m
2.01m
2.6m
2.5m


National Library of Scotland:
 
 
 
 


Visitors
0.09m
0.11m
0.09m
0.09m


Web sessions
0.56m
0.76m
1.25m
1.83m



  The Scottish Executive’s support for non-national museums and galleries is directed through the Scottish Museums Council. On 26 July 2005, the Scottish Museums Council published A National Learning and Access Strategy for Scotland’s Museums and Galleries, with a Ministerial foreword. This strategy aims to ensure that learning and access are integrated into museum service delivery as part of standard practice.

Museums and Galleries

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what payments have been made from the Heritage Lottery Fund to (a) national, (b) industrial heritage and (c) other museums in each of the last three years and for what purpose.

Patricia Ferguson: This is a matter for the Heritage Lottery Fund. The information requested is not compiled by the Scottish Executive.

Museums and Galleries

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what payments have been made to each heritage museum in Dundee via the gift aid scheme in each of the last five years.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the Gift Aid scheme, which is a reserved matter.

Museums and Galleries

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate ways of providing non-national museums and galleries with additional funding, in light of their economic importance as referred to in the report, Realising the True Impact of Museums and Galleries in Scottish Tourism , and whether it has had any meetings with COSLA or other public bodies with regard to museum and gallery funding.

Patricia Ferguson: Scottish Executive support for non-national museums and galleries is channelled principally through local authorities. In addition, the Executive provides specific grant through the Scottish Museums Council. Local authority grant aided expenditure in respect of museums and galleries rose from £21.2 million in 1999-2000 to £29.4 million in 2005-06. Funding for the Scottish Museums Council increased over the same period from £1 million to £2.8 million.

  A consultation exercise on the delivery of a Significance Recognition Scheme for Scotland’s non-national museums and galleries ended in July. The consultation identified the mechanisms for delivering the scheme and acknowledged Scotland’s important cultural heritage collections. The scheme will offer a strategic context for investment by national and local government, Lottery distributors and others. Further information on the Scheme is available on SMC’s website: http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/.

  Its implementation will be considered in the context of the Executive’s overall response to the Cultural Commission’s Report.

  I met COSLA to discuss the Cultural Commission’s Report on Wednesday 17 August. In addition, the Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the national institutions and SMC on a wide range of issues, including funding for museums and galleries.

Museums and Galleries

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to support local museums and galleries.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-18245, S2W-18246 and S2W-18250 on 24 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17042 by Cathy Jamieson on 17 June 2005, on how many occasions Premier Prison Services Ltd informed the Scottish Prison Service of a failure to meet a contractual commitment in respect of the management of HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  
Once, when KPSL advised the SPS in advance that the prison would open on 25 rather than 16 March 1999.

Roads

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Dalkeith bypass will be considered under the Strategic Projects Review for all transport modes, to be carried out by the Executive in 2006.

Tavish Scott: In June of this year my predecessor announced the decision to proceed with the Dalkeith Northern Bypass. Construction is programmed to start in 2006 and therefore this scheme will not be part of the Strategic Projects Review.

Roads

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, if the Strategic Projects Review for all transport modes, or any other detailed evaluation, concludes that the Dalkeith bypass remains a priority, whether it will investigate alternative alignments to protect the Dalkeith estate.

Tavish Scott: I refer to my answers to questions S2W-18343 on 18 August 2005 and S2W-18344 on 24 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on grass roots sport and what approach it will take to implement this policy at community level.

Patricia Ferguson: The national strategy for sport in Scotland, which is owned by all the key agencies and partners in sport including the Scottish Executive, is set out in Sport 21 2003-07. Several of the targets contained in Sport 21 focus on developing participation in sport and we are committed to working with key partners and agencies in progressing their delivery. At community level the delivery of Sport 21 targets largely rests with local authorities in line with their statutory responsibilities. Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland, is working closely with local authorities to support the implementation of the strategies developed to support the delivery of these Sport 21 targets.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated in each of the last five years to generating ideas and developing local initiatives in respect of sport and physical activity.

Patricia Ferguson: All Scottish Executive funding for sport is channelled through  sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland. Over the last five years,  sportscotland has invested exchequer and National Lottery funds as set out in the following table, to stimulate the development of sport in local communities. There are aspects of other  sportscotland programmes which support local initiatives. For example, sports governing body funding frequently includes an element for coaching but it is not possible to define the split between work at local or national levels.

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Sports Facilities – School and Community Strand
7,567,891
6,003,336
2,101,225
1,256,619
0*


Sports Facilities – Local Facilities Strand
1,134,451
2,598,492
2,891,400
2,286,562
0*


Sports Facilities – Swimming Pool Upgrade Strand
 
1,675,029
2,566,502
3,509,253
0*


Building for Sport – Community Facility Strand
 
 
 
 
2,629,644



  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Awards for All
 766,440
1,256,798
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000


School Sport Co-ordinator Programme
 550,739
 796,024
2,510,635
2,222,994#
0#


Active Primary Schools
 
1,200,000
1,100,000
1,800,000 
0#


Active Schools
 
 
 
 
9,800,000


TOP programme
1,240,250
1,556,460
 160,533
 101,127
 47,120


Social Inclusion Partnership Programme
 
 
1,327,954
 653,489
 709,687


Sportsmatch
 256,786
 265,777
 181,844
 215,662
 247,973


Total
11,516,557
15,351,916
13,840,093
13,045,706
14,434,424



  Note: *The Sports Facilities Programme was reviewed during 2003 and subsequently replaced by the Building for Sport Programme in May 2004. The decline in Lottery income resulted in a reduction in the number of awards, both in terms of the amount offered, and as a percentage of the total project cost. The Building for Sport Programme has two strands: community facilities and training and competition facilities.

  The School Sport Co-ordinator and Active Primary Schools programmes were incorporated into Active Schools in April 2004.

  Further details of each of these programmes can be obtained from sportscotland’s website or from sportscotland.

  The Scottish Executive has supported the development of a wide variety of local initiatives working with partners including Paths to Health, Jogscotland, SUSTRANS and YDance. Funding for these initiatives is summarised below:

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Funding Amount (£)
-
-
50,000
516,238
898,976



  During the period 2000-05, the Scottish Executive has provided additional funding to local authorities. The £95 million released in June 2002 as a result of a budget revision and End-Year Flexibility arrangements, was made available for work on two key areas:

  
Improving the quality of life for children and young people; in particular for making healthy choices an easier option by improving access to sport and leisure activities; and
For improving the local environment, with particular action on local streets and roads, on crime and community safety and on environmental improvements.


  Further additional "quality of life" funding was announced in December 2002 which provided an additional £180 million over three years.

  While each local authority has different needs and priorities it was open to them to use any of this additional funding for leisure and recreational purposes.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a sports and physical activity Bill.

Patricia Ferguson: No.

Transport

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government, train operating companies and other relevant rail industry bodies, including trade unions, concerning additional security and safety measures following the bombings in London in July 2005.

Tavish Scott: Safety and counter-terrorism security on the rail network are reserved matters. The Department for Transport maintains close contacts with the rail industry and the British Transport Police on a range of issues including the potential threat to the network and the measures to be deployed to minimise the risk of future security incidents. This has continued since the events in London on 7 and 21 July.

  First ScotRail has assured the Executive of its compliance with all safety and security requirements in the context of franchise management meetings.

Transport

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S2W-14229 by Nicol Stephen on 14 February 2005, when the findings of the feasibility study into the Glasgow Crossrail link, due to be published in mid-June 2005, will be published.

Tavish Scott: Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) commissioned Scott Wilson railway consultants to undertake a feasibility study of Glasgow Crossrail. I understand that Scott Wilson have now reported their findings to SPT for consideration. The report will then require the approval of SPT before submission to the Scottish Executive.